Marceline Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. But he did not consider Chicago his hometown. That title went to Marceline, Missouri where he spent his early childhood. Marceline had a great impact on Walt’s life, as he used the small town as inspiration for Main Street, USA in his parks and the setting of The Lady and The Tramp .  Disney Goes Hollywood In 1911, the Disney’s moved to Kansas City. They moved again in 1917 back to Chicago. Walt took art classes wherever he could.  Walt dropped out of school to serve his country in World War I. He became an ambulance driver for the Red Cross. When he returned to Kansas City in 1919, he opened his own cartoon studio, Laugh-O-Gram. Unfortunately, the business had little success. So, Walt decided to move to Hollywood to with his brother, Roy, to join the growing film industry. There, they established another studio – Walt Disney Studios. Walt hired an ink artist named Lillian and the two later marr